New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during a news conference, Monday, May 10, 2021 in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool)
By Marina Villenueve
Anyone who gets vaccinated at select state-run vaccination sites in New York next week will receive a lottery scratch ticket with prizes potentially worth millions, as Gov. Andrew Cuomo tries to boost slowing vaccination rates.
The pilot program will offer prizes from $20 up to $5 million and run from Monday, May 24 to Friday, May 28 at 10 state-run sites, Cuomo said Thursday.
“It's a situation where everyone wins,” Cuomo said at a press conference in Buffalo.
The governor said there's a one in nine chance of winning a scratch ticket prize in New York, which is joining other states, including Ohio, with similar lottery incentives. Only residents 18 and older are eligible, according to a press release.
New York also plans to set up pop-up vaccination sites at seven airports across the state for U.S. residents, including airport workers.
New York has fully vaccinated about 43% of its 20 million residents, above the national average of 37.8%.
Still, Cuomo said the pace of vaccinations has slowed: New York has recorded an average of 123,806 daily shots in arms over the past 14 days. That's down 43% from 216,040 as of April 12.
Talk show host Jerry Springer speaks in New York on April 15, 2010. Springer, the former Cincinnati mayor and news anchor whose namesake TV show unleashed strippers, homewreckers and skinheads to brawl and spew obscenities on weekday afternoons, has died. He was 79. A family spokesperson died Thursday at home in suburban Chicago. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
Kenan Thompson is now the longest-serving cast member in the history of Saturday Night Live, starting his tenure back in 2003. The actor and comedian talked about the show, the upcoming Good Burger sequel, and his efforts to recruit and develop young talent around the country through his organization YoungStars 360.
